Labour row as council leader accused of ‘gaslighting’ colleague

An e-mail exchange between leader Cllr Russ Bowden (LAB – Birchwood) and Cllr Amanda King (LAB – Great Sankey South) in relation to an offensive campaign leaflet has been seen by the Warrington Guardian.

As reported earlier this month, Labour’s Warrington North MP Charlotte Nichols apologised for the ‘offence and hurt’ she caused to the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller community.

It came after the politician posted a tweet – including a photo of a leaflet – showing her campaigning for the party’s Orford council candidates in May’s all-out elections.

The leaflet said ‘delivering for you in tough times’ and highlighted a range of issues, including ‘dealing with traveller incursions’.

In response to an e-mail from Cllr King, Cllr Bowden said ‘it was not a ward leaflet’ and ‘it was an outcard’ that has been used in a single door knocking session in Orford.

“All remaining outcards have been destroyed,” he said.

“The copy and approval is the responsibility of the candidates and agent, all of whom have expressed their regret and remorse over the wording used.

“The content of the outcards was not created or approved by either the campaign committee or the third party organisation.

“The role of a group colleague and their business should not be conflated.

“The Labour group unanimously agreed the campaign strategy, timeline and spending at its meeting on 18 February.

“This included the use of an external company. That work is ongoing and the campaign committee is satisfied with the output from them, which is specifically design-focused and not message-focused.

“I am asking group members to refrain from responding to your email and trust that any concerns can be addressed in an appropriate and comradely fashion.”

In response, Cllr King said ‘I don’t need to be patronised’.

“I had hoped you would take my email in the spirit of helpfulness that was intended rather than gaslighting me in your reply,” she said.

“Delivery of this out card resulted in our town, the entire Warrington Labour Party and a number of our fellow candidates appearing in the national press.

“People who had done nothing wrong were subjected to a torrent of abuse on social media.

“I am sure I was not alone in hoping that while all this was going on, you could have shown some of the leadership we were promised when you were elected.”

Cllr King also told Cllr Bowden that he should have ‘taken hold of the situation and stopped it from spiralling’.

“Instead we were met with silence from you and the deputy leader,” she said.

“This only served to add to the offense being caused.

“The fact remains that the external company who have been designing our material are now in the national spotlight.

“I don’t think it is unreasonable for candidates and Cllrs to have the option to make use of Labour Party templates on campaign creator and another printing company without being told that they’ll be denied funding if they do.

“As a regional board member, I have never heard of any other group in the country holding candidates and Cllrs to ransom over the use of a specific external supplier.

“I am not sure how the campaign committee can be satisfied with the output from this company.

“Next to nothing has been produced, there is still no website as promised (unless we are counting the one that went live when it wasn’t supposed to, full of incorrect information) and there has been little communication from anyone who is supposed to be taking control of this election. The campaign has been very badly run.”

“As a group, we have not had value for money and despite what you say, candidates and Cllrs have had very little input into ward materials. The leaflets are also more expensive and poorly designed when compared to the templates offered by the Labour Party.

As reported last week, the Warrington Guardian understands Labour’s Cllr Tom Jennings, a council cabinet member, was recently suspended by Labour – but is now back in the party.

The Warrington Guardian has asked the Labour Party why the Bewsey and Whitecross councillor was suspended.

A party spokesperson said: “We cannot comment on internal matters.”

The party has confirmed Cllr Jennings is Labour’s candidate for Bewsey and Whitecross in the local election in May.

In her e-mail to Cllr Bowden, Cllr King added: “Some of the delays might be due to the fact that a group member who owns said external company has recently been suspended.

“It was disappointing that we had to find this out from the Warrington Guardian because again you had not thought to mention it.

“My earlier suggestion still stands that we should go back to our original model and allow candidates the freedom to use Labour campaign creator material and a printer of their choice.

“Funds from the group should still be released if they do. We should also consider looking for more experienced heads to run our election campaigns in the future as this has been so badly managed.”

The all-out elections take place on May 6.